While casinos and poker rooms may often devise their own procedures for dealing cards to customers, the following guidelines are typically followed:
The dealer is responsible for determining who will start the game from the position of the batton (button) at the beginning of the game. To do this, each player at the table is dealt one card, and the player whose card is ranked higher begins the game from the position of the batton.
When the players to the left of the button have contributed their blinds to the table (Texas Holdem is being played at this point), the dealer will start dealing out the cards. The dealer starts with the player to the left of the board and moves clockwise around the table, giving each player one card. When all of the players have been dealt pocket cards, the deal is over.
If at least one card is exposed to the point that any of the players may think about taking it into consideration, the dealer will start the deal over again. In the event that a card is knocked off the table, the same rule applies. In the past, this rule appeared somewhat differently, and the dealer was permitted to continue dealing cards so long as they removed the exposed card from the game.
Poker Handing Rules
